Adeniyi and the Digital Renaissance of Nigeria Customs
By Tahir Ahmad,
When Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, took the reins of the Nigeria Customs Service in 2023, he made no attempt to disguise his vision. Technology, he said, would no longer be a luxury but the new lifeblood of Customs operations.
Two years into his stewardship, the results of that conviction are beginning to unfold before our eyes. From automation to intelligence-driven tools, the Service is not just modernising its operations—it is rewriting Nigeria’s trade facilitation story.
The newest addition to this unfolding revolution came on September 15, 2025, with the launch of the Overtime E-Clearance System at the Apapa Port.
For decades, the nation’s ports have staggered under the weight of congestion and corruption. Abandoned cargoes sat neglected in terminals, shrinking available space and slowing the turnaround of vessels.
The manual clearance process left loopholes wide enough for rent-seeking, duty evasion, and sabotage. The Overtime E-Clearance System arrives as a deliberate antidote to these age-old maladies.
The platform enables consignees to submit and track applications remotely, eliminating the endless treks to Customs headquarters and sealing off opportunities for manual interference.
Transparency is now embedded in the process, ensuring faster cargo exit, opening up port space for new consignments, and restoring efficiency to port logistics. By design, the system wields a single digital scalpel against both congestion and corruption.
This reform does not stand alone. It is one piece of a grander mosaic—the Trade Modernisation Project, a 20-year public-private partnership that seeks to fully digitise Customs operations.
Earlier this year, I chronicled the arrival of the B’Odogwu system, which introduced automation that was already loosening the grip of outdated routines. In another article, I described GEOINT as the intelligence edge that gave Customs “eyes in the sky,” enabling more proactive surveillance and enforcement.
Placed within this broader context, the Overtime E-Clearance System is not just a digital tweak. It is part of a carefully layered technological renaissance under CGC Adeniyi’s leadership. GEOINT strengthens surveillance, B’Odogwu ensures operational efficiency, and now Overtime E-Clearance unclogs the ports.
Together, they form a tripod of innovation, advancing trade facilitation while safeguarding national revenue. Still, every innovation brings its own risks. CGC Adeniyi himself has cautioned against abuse, recalling a 15-year-old overtime cargo case still under investigation.
He warned that deliberate abandonment of cargo as a trick to evade duties would no longer be tolerated. With Customs intelligence units monitoring for infractions, stricter sanctions await offenders.
His reminder was clear: technology can never be stronger than the integrity of those who use it. Yet the early signals are promising. Terminal operators and shipping lines, once sceptical, are now pledging cooperation—provided the system proves its worth in practice.
This is where Adeniyi’s leadership stands out. He does not simply deploy technology; he builds trust around it. Stakeholder sensitisation in Lagos marked the beginning of this process, and zonal offices are now sustaining the dialogue with shipping companies and other partners nationwide.
When one tallies the strides since 2023, it becomes clear that CGC Adeniyi has gifted the Customs Service not just a feather but an entire plume of innovation. With B’Odogwu, GEOINT, and now Overtime E-Clearance, the NCS is showing that technology is not a buzzword but a working instrument of transparency, efficiency, and revenue protection.
The task ahead is to sustain this momentum, plug emerging loopholes, and ensure these systems do not remain ceremonial launches but living parts of everyday Customs operations. If achieved, Nigeria’s ports may at last shed their long-held reputation as bottlenecks and re-emerge as genuine gateways of competitiveness.
In the end, the Customs story under Adeniyi is fast becoming the story of technology as the great equaliser. With the Overtime E-Clearance System, yet another technological feather has been added to Customs’ cap.
Tahir Ahmad is a corps member serving at PRNigeria Centre, Abuja. He can be reached via: [email protected].
